{"id":20363,"date":"2024-05-25T10:00:11","date_gmt":"2024-05-25T08:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/getitmagazine.co.za\/pretoria\/?p=20363"},"modified":"2024-05-23T11:57:22","modified_gmt":"2024-05-23T09:57:22","slug":"wine-tasting-anyone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/getitmagazine.co.za\/pretoria\/blog\/2024\/05\/25\/wine-tasting-anyone\/","title":{"rendered":"Wine tasting, anyone?"},"content":{"rendered":"

How does \u2018Cat\u2019s Pee on a Gooseberry Bush\u2019 grab you?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

This could be one of wine tasting\u2019s most (in)famous quotes. Occasionally, we do need to resort to brutal honesty or shock factor to describe wine, to define that which is rather difficult to pin down – even for a professional. If it were easy, we wouldn\u2019t have to study for 5 years and sit 10 examinations to be called a Master of Wine.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tasting wine as impartially as possible to evaluate its merits is separate from exercising personal preference and drinking wine for sheer enjoyment. For some consumers, the desire to graduate from casual drinker to aficionado is how \u2018swirling, sniffing, spitting types\u2019 are made. <\/span>None of us<\/span> emerges from the womb clutching a spittoon and a ready-made repertoire of tasting notes. For others such as cellar masters, winemakers, sommeliers, judges, critics and any industry professionals, wine is not merely a side passion; it is a lifelong career in which tasting is critical and forms part of the educational training.<\/span><\/p>\n

It is widely acknowledged to be far easier to score a wine when vital details such as variety or blend, region and vintage are already known; it is much harder when we are forced to rely solely on sensorial sleuth work. This makes blind tastings the ultimate test of palate prowess. There are standing jokes aplenty about muddling Burgundy with Bordeaux in \u2018The Blinds\u2019, if we can be forgiven for borrowing the term from unsighted music contest <\/span>The Voice<\/span><\/i>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u2018Wine keeps you humble\u2019 is the self-deprecating quip from engineer-turned-winemaker Ettiene Louw of challenger brand Orpheus and the Raven.<\/span><\/p>\n

Adding to the challenge, wine tasting has become even more difficult and complex than it used to be. \u2018Wine has changed,\u2019 explains Ginette de Fleuriot, Wine Education and Training Manager at leading local distributor Vinimark<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018Nowadays there are more varieties and blends in the form we have today. Styles of wine have shifted due to climate and technology. We know more about viticulture, and winemaking has advanced too. As New World wines flooded the market in the 1980s, drinking preferences changed too. It has become more difficult to hone our critique and palates. We also need to update our terminology every now and then. That is why we have to keep learning all the time.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

To speak to this need, <\/span>de Fleuriot<\/span> hosts regular masterclasses for Vinimark\u2019s stable of brand partners, which are some of the country\u2019s best names in wine, and tasting was the topic of her most recent class. A Cape Wine Master herself and lecturer for the Cape Wine Academy, <\/span>de Fleuriot<\/span> has been a contributor to <\/span>Platter\u2019s<\/span><\/i> and has served as a wine judge for Veritas, SAA wine selection panel, Diners Club Wine List Awards, the Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show, the Nederburg Auction Selection panel, the Value Wine Guide, ULTRA Value Wine Challenge and the Top100 SA Wine Challenge. It\u2019s a formidable curriculum vitae, yet far from being a snob, she is quick to assert: \u2018It\u2019s okay to make mistakes.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

This<\/span> is tremendously reassuring when we consider winemakers themselves can fail to name their own wines when the bottles are hidden in a tasting flight<\/span>. Conversely, we\u2019re quick to marvel when blind tasters are right on the nose, pun intended, and can impressively pick out, say, the guava notes that reveal a tropical Sauvignon Blanc, and that\u2019s just by sniffing it!<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Described in flowery, poetic terms, wine tasting is a rewarding and refined art, engaging the senses, and accessing and expanding a memory bank of experiences and knowledge. But it\u2019s probably closer to detective work. Much like a whodunnit murder mystery, there\u2019s a process of elimination involved to reveal the culprit from a list of suspects. \u2018Colour, smell and taste\u2019 \u2013 or \u2018kyk, ruik en proe\u2019 if you prefer the Afrikaans counterpart \u2013 are all clues. Detecting notes of cat pee? Well, then that must be\u2026\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If investigator Jessica Fletcher, the character played by Angela Lansbury on the old television series <\/span>Murder, She Wrote<\/span><\/i>, were doing the tasting for us, it would likely be a quick solve. But as we mentioned earlier, it\u2019s not that simple. Moreover, tasting is extremely nuanced.<\/span><\/p>\n

At Vinimark\u2019s <\/span>masterclass on\u00a0<\/span>How to Taste, <\/span><\/i>the aim \u2018was to create more awareness around certain cues that determine the character of a wine and influence how it behaves in one\u2019s mouth. We looked at colour, aromatics, acidity, tannins, alcohol, weight, complexity, and length as the key differentiators for varietal wines and blends,\u2019 explains de Fleuriot.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ultimately, the more competent we become at tasting, the more we can value all that has gone into making a great wine, and what in fact makes it so great compared to wine that is perhaps less accomplished. Without this level of discernment, we\u2019d be stuck without any sense of personal advancement, or any stimulus to the wider industry to keep improving.<\/span><\/p>\n

Whether we\u2019re tasting professionally or personally, both yield a deeper appreciation for wine. Finally, without wanting to sound frivolous, it is also the kind of deep, lasting fun that comes with no small sense of achievement. \u2018You can see why people get so into it!\u2019 says de Fleuriot with a knowing smile\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

To learn more, listen to Vinimark\u2019s regular podcast on Spotify, or visit their website<\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How does \u2018Cat\u2019s Pee on a Gooseberry Bush\u2019 grab you? This could be one of wine tasting\u2019s most (in)famous quotes. Occasionally, we do need to resort to brutal honesty or shock factor to describe wine, to define that which is rather difficult to pin down – even for a professional. If it were easy, we […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":113,"featured_media":20368,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[8372,8373,151,5257],"class_list":{"0":"post-20363","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-leisure","8":"tag-masterclass","9":"tag-technique","10":"tag-wine","11":"tag-wine-tasting"},"yoast_head":"\nWine tasting, anyone? - Get it Pretoria<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/getitmagazine.co.za\/pretoria\/blog\/2024\/05\/25\/wine-tasting-anyone\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Wine tasting, anyone? - Get it Pretoria\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"How does \u2018Cat\u2019s Pee on a Gooseberry Bush\u2019 grab you? 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